


learning process

by evenlypaced



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, College, Getting Back Together, Happy Ending, Jealous!Rhett, Light AU, M/M, break ups
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-13 23:02:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21005603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evenlypaced/pseuds/evenlypaced
Summary: rhett and link receive a lesson in falling apart, picking the pieces back up, and everything in between.





	1. Chapter 1

There had been no real fire, no fury, no big blowout the night it happened. Rhett was moving inside of Link, panting above him, watching Link’s eyes wander around the room. He grunted stilling his movements as he felt his partner check out of the act almost entirely , “If you didn’t want this, you could have said so.”

Link moved a little, shimmying his hips to seat Rhett inside him once more, “It’s fine, just finish.”

“You’re the one that started this, and now you’re not even with me. What gives Link?”

Link sighed, eyes holding hard at the metal rungs of the bunk above him. “I figured I’d put it off long enough, might as well get it over with.”

Rhett pulled out, sitting back on his haunches as he stared down at Link, unsure what to say. 

He knew this was coming. He;d felt the growing distance since they’d made it to NC State, setting out on what they had thought would be the rest of their collective lives together. They’d come together after years of denying themselves of it, lighting a fire they thought never had the ability of burning out.

At first it had been excitement, the thrill of having a room to themselves to fool around in, no pillows protecting walls from the telltale hit of a headboard, no locked doors giving them a five second head start on breaking apart before someone’s parents came home. It was bliss, enjoying each other for the first few months of college uninhibited. 

Link had soon started to fully embrace his new freedom, running off with his crowd of friends every weekend while Rhett opted to stay in, hyperfocused on working hard now so he could relax later on. Link hadn’t put up a fight past the third weekend, seemingly content with the arrangement. They’d had less time together as the semester went on, trying to stay afloat with the work required of them.

Date nights turned into study sessions and it started to take a toll on them. The snores Rhett once found endearing from Link halfway through a movie night now ignited annoyance, anger rising in his voice as he woke Link up, already pointedly moving to flip the lights on and head to bed. He wasn’t sure when it changed, but it was painfully clear that something had.

They’d ignored it, using the softer moments they seldom shared and their history to justify their relationship. If they couldn't make it, who could?

It all came to a head in the moment, Rhett staring down at Link, “If sex is such a chore maybe we should just stop doing it then.”

He took a pause, waiting for Link to cut in, to tell him something redeeming. But it never came.

“In fact,” Rhett growled, moving to stand up off the mattress, “maybe we shouldn’t do this anymore.”

“Do what, Rhett? You breakin’ up with me?”

Rhett’s throat tightened. He knew it was over, knew he had started this, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. He choked on the words, Link huffing a strained out laugh as he sat up, pulling his own clothes back on. “I’m gonna go to Tim’s. Don’t wait up for me.”

Rhett nodded, letting Link move past him. The door shut quietly much to Rhett’s surprise, no anger behind the action.

He wasn’t sure if he had wanted it, wanted a sign that Link had wanted Rhett to chase him. He sat down on the bed, hand absentmindedly tracing over where they had just been laying, trying to ground himself in the moment. He broke up with Link. He let Link leave.

He didn’t feel regret, instead something bigger than him settling in his stomach. A flood of trying to grasp at the meaning of it all washed over him. He tried to cry, tried to let his body bubble with anything that felt worthy of losing Link in this capacity. Instead he felt nothing but the uneasiness of contentment beginning to root within him.

\---

Rhett’s eyes slowly opened, sleeping form startled by the door opening.

The clock’s fluorescent green numbering alerted him to the fact that it was 3:30 in the morning. He’d usually be snuggled up against Link at this time, one hand protectively over him as they slept, bodies moving slightly to the synced rhythm of deep sleep.

But now he was face to face with him, Link’s hands shoved in the pocket of his hoodie as he looked back to Link, words clearly at the ready once Rhett met his eyes. “We should talk.”

Rhett nodded, letting Link take the lead, lest he make anything he’d already set in motion worse for either of them. Link sat on the ground beneath the bed, the gesture of distance not lost on him.

“I love you.”

“Link, st-”

“No,” Link cut in quickly, “please let me finish.’

He sighed, eyes grounded to the floor as he spoke on, “I love you. And I love you enough to realize we’ve changed, and that maybe a break is good.”

“A break?”

“Break, a break up, whatever you wanna call it Rhett. We’ve spent our whole lives together, figured we were gonna get tired of each other eventually”. Link laughed, no substance to it as he shook his head slowly in convoluted humor.

“What’re you sayin’ Link?”

“I’m sayin’, maybe we need to get away from each other for a bit. I have no idea who I am without you Rhett, and that scares me.”

Rhett knew it was true, but hearing it out loud was almost too much to bear. “Yeah, maybe we should.”

“Tim already said I could stay with him for a bit, his roommate left a month ago and nobody ever took up his side. Funny how these things work out.”

Rhett sighed, “Yeah, no, I get it. Of course, if this is what you want.”

“It’s not about what I want Rhett. It’s about what I need. What  _ we  _ need.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say Link.”

Link shook his head, standing up, “Nothing, Rhett. I just needed you to listen.”

He stood up, Rhett mirroring his action, putting them face to face under the harsh ceiling light. Rhett pulled Link into a huge, the younger boy sagging into the embrace. Rhett squeezed tight, stealing the touches he could given the sense of finality lingering around the move. Link pulled back, lightly pressing his lips to Rhett’s cheek before pulling away completely. 

“I’ll be back in the morning to get some stuff. Get some sleep, okay?”

Link left, Rhett left standing in the middle of the room that suddenly felt too big for him. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

The first few days without Link floated by in a haze. Link had gone out of his way to make sure they didn’t see each other. It was bittersweet to come to terms with the fact that Link still knew Rhett’s schedule down to the minute, making the whole fight seem futile for a fleeting second. 

He’d almost expected one of them crack, having never gone more than a day before ending a fight over the decade they’d known each other. Rhett remembers their first fight, the struggle for who would be the “mom” in Link’s imaginary household resolved within a matter of minutes despite the tears and carrying on from Link, ever-dramatic from even a young age. As teens, their fights had more depth and testosterone behind them, fists flying and Rhett proclaiming “I’m dead” to a riled Link. But they always made up. Link always smiled wide, said something goofy to feign emotionlessness and they were good. They had to be.

Rhett tried to just be mad at first, pettily welcoming the silence of nobody around to yell at him to pick up his clothes, wash his dishes, or not skip class for the third time that week.

He relished in Link not being able to yell at him for cracking a beer open in the dorm, being a stickler for the rules of a dry campus and begging Rhett to just go out to the bar with him instead.

One beer turned to three and he was starting to feel looser, sinking down into the cushions of Mr. Fly.

He tried to distract himself with TV, but couldn’t help it as his booze soaked mind ran amuck as he channel surfed.  _ Link would have hated this show, Link would probably be falling asleep at this point,  _ it was too much and he suddenly felt rage bubble up inside him, hand moving quicker than his mind as he was suddenly throwing the remote across the room. The release lit something within him, wicked catharsis coursing through him as he eyed what Link left behind, moving toward his side of the dorm.

As if the onset of crashing had summoned him, Gregg had come over to check on him. Rhett was glad to see him, taking the edge off of his loneliness, even if his friend was now less than happy to end up spending his most of Friday night helping a drunk Rhett clean up after trashing Link’s side of the room. 

They sat on the couch, a simple “How are you?” turning from ranting to tears almost instantly, the alcohol working overtime and releasing the flood of emotions he’d pushed down all week. Gregg became an open shoulder to cry on, awkwardly patting his back as Rhett babbled on, giving what comfort he could without risking his standard of 19 year old masculinity.

“Are you gonna be okay man? I can stay if you need me to, I know break ups are rough.”

_ Break up.  _ The term still stung. Rhett shook his head, “You probably had plans, I’m such an asshole. You should go, I’ll probably just sleep this off.”

Gregg nodded, brushing at the snot Rhett had leaked onto his shirt as he stood up, “I’d invite you out but, uh-“

Rhett looked down at the floor, unwilling to let Gregg see the second flood of tears teetering in his eyes, “Link’ll be there, won’t he.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry man.”

Sniffling, he nodded. Going out was Link’s thing, why would that change? 

“He doin’ okay?” 

“Mhm, I think so. Not sure how much you really need to hear right now, dude.”

Rhett turned his head, “What he go and replace me already?”

Rhett laughed at first at the absurdity of the idea, but felt his stomach sink as Gregg didn’t reject the notion. He held his hands up in surrender, “I think you should talk to him. I’ve probably already said too much.”

“Gregg, please. I need to know.”

His friend shook his head, turning instead to leave the room, “Talk to him, that’s all I can say, Rhett. Night, man.”

Rhett felt himself quickly begin to sober up as his mind started spinning. It hadn’t even been a full two weeks, Rhett was bursting at the seams and Link had  _ replaced  _ him? 

He refused to believe it. 

He looked at the clock, it was barely 10:00, Link’s night was just getting started. He regretted not asking Gregg where he was going, realizing he’s actually never had the mind to ask Link where he was off to every weekend. 

He grabbed his jacket, heading out, determined to find Link amongst the throngs of stumbling undergrads that plagued the main stretch every weekend.

He scoured the yards of house parties, looking for any sign of a familiar face to make his search for Link easier. After an hour, he ditched the plan and headed for the pub. Even if Link didn’t end up there, at least he could drink away the embarrassment of the desperation churning inside him. 

  
  


He flashed his ID at the door, making his way to the crowded bartop once he was inside, pushing through the mass of people. He scanned the room, nobody he was concerned with present, and hailed the bartender as his heart sank down. 

He felt ridiculous, if Link wanted him to find him, he would have done it first. Link was always a step ahead of him, knowing exactly what he needed before he could tell anything was off. It hit him like a pile of bricks. 

He hadn’t put enough in to make Link happy, that was it, wasn’t it? Link had naturally become the caretaker in their dynamic, being the one to keep schedules and commitments in his head for the both of them. Hell, if Link hadn’t reminded Rhett at least once a week to do laundry, he’d be walking around campus naked. Link had to have grown tired of it, feeling like he’d been pulling all the weight. Why had it taken him so long to see?

Ideally, he wouldn’t have realized it in the middle of a pub, ending up sobbing against the hard lacquer of the bar. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there before the bartender shoved him, asking him to take his display outside.

The fresh air hit him and offered him an almost instant moment of clarity. He had to find Link, he had to show him how sorry he was and it would all be over. He felt invincible, running down the sidewalk, solely focused on finding himself at Tim’s door with the hope that Link had made it home already.

He made it to Tim’s door in a blur, needlessly pounding on the worn down door, leaving no question that someone was there for him. He was ready to bust it down the second Tim, or god Link, opened the door. Instead he was face to face with a tall redhead, looking curiously back at him.

“Shit, I must have hit the wrong door, I’m so sorry dude.”

Rhett went to run, embarrassed to have woken a stranger so late, but whipped his head around as he began to speak. “You’re Rhett, right?”

He’d never seen him before, wracking his brain to figure out if he’d had a lecture with him, mind blanking as he realized he was now just staring this guy down from the middle of the hallway. 

“Yeah, sorry, ‘m a little tipsy. Have a good night.”

“I’d suggest you leave him alone right now.”

Rhett froze, “What?”

The other guy stepped into the hallway, slowly shutting the door behind him and closing the distance between him and Rhett. “Link. He’s hurting man, let him have his space.”

Rhett sneered, “You don’t know shit about him.”

Drunk on anger and the residual booze still coursing through him, he shoved at the man attempting to tower over him, crashing him into the concrete across from them. Rhett balled his fist in the other’s shirt, noses almost touching as he growled. “Don’t you  _ dare  _ tell me what I should be doing when it comes to him, you fucking little-”

The gasp made the tangled pair look to the source of the sound, a sleep disheveled Link now boring holes into Rhett’s eyes, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Link.”

Even anger flushed and crossing his arms, Link was still a vision to behold after not seeing him for days on end. He felt quenched despite the rapid drying of his throat at Link’s clear displeasure in seeing him. He moved back from the wall, attempting to move closer but being met with Link taking a pointed step backwards.

“You don’t get to do this and then expect me to speak to you. Jason, let’s go.”

Jason, whoever the fuck  _ that  _ was, stepped back into the room, shooting one last glare at Rhett before disappearing into the dark embrace of the unlit room. Link leaned on the door, sighing at Rhett. 

“Link please, I need to talk to you.”

“No.”

“Why?”

It was simple, because he was simply that lost, that confused. He almost prayed he was dreaming all of this, somehow lucidly creating the image of a reality where Link  _ actually _ hated him. He couldn't bear it.

“Not now, not like this. You’re drunk, you’re angry. Go  _ home _ .”

He felt tears pricking at his eyes, having enough sense to him to not create more of a pathetic display of himself than he already had. Even disgusted by him, Link was still leaning into making sure Rhett heard verbal confirmation of what needed to do to save himself in his current state. He nodded, “Goodnight then, sorry for waking you up”. The door shut harshly, his only option now to walk back to his room, apparent there was nothing Link wanted from him.


	3. Chapter 3

Rhett was thankful for the weekend giving him limitless hours to spend alone, curled up in bed, nursing the hangover he’d put upon himself trying to wash Link out of his system. If anything, his escapades had dug him a deeper hole and he was paying for it in more ways than one.

The knock on the door felt like a bomb going off next to him, groaning that the door was open before throwing his blanket over his head. He wasn’t in the mood for visitors, but figure Gregg would be sending the police in if he didn’t answer.

Rhett groaned, rubbing his eyes as he heard the door shut, “Gregg, I’m really not in the mood.”

“Still not locking the door at night, huh?”

He heard a slight chuckle, eyes darting up. “Link?”

“Here,” he extended the coffee in his hand, “Figure you probably feel like shit”. He half expected Link to dump it on him, feeling it would serve him right after the scene he made the night before. The other boy sipped at his own cup slowly, clear that this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision.

“Why are you here?”

“You wanted to talk. Fine, let’s talk.”

Rhett sighed, staring at the rising steam coming from the cup, stomach twisting in deluded nausea that it was made exactly how Rhett liked it. It felt like a test. He hadn’t studied.

“I’m sorry Link. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“That’s all you got?”

The tone was torturous, egging Rhett on to spill everything he’d been holding back. He braced himself, taking in a deep breath before letting loose. “I’m miserable Link, I thought I could be okay with giving you your space but it’s been awful. But you’re clearly doing okay and I can’t ruin that for you. I need you but if you don’t need me then we’ll keep doing it.”

It was Link’s turned to sigh now, staring at Rhett like he didn’t know what to do with him. “You really think I’m okay?”

Rhett huffed, “Seems  _ Jason  _ is taking care of you just fine.”

“He’s a friend Rhett. A friend you’d know if you ever loosened up and went out with me every once in a while.”

“You’re right.”

“You’re not getting it, Rhett. I don’t want you to tell me I’m right, I need you to listen to what I’m saying. I spend every weekend doing things with people that I wish you were there for. I have friends you’ve never met, I’ve made great memories without you in them and it  _ never  _ used to be like that.”

Rhett was confused, wholeheartedly. Link wanted to be seperate people. Link wanted them to do everything together. He didn’t know what Link truly wanted, and he told him so.

“I want you Rhett. Not seeing you everyday wasn’t something I could get used to. Wasn’t something I wanted to get used to.”

“Seems like you sure tried to.”

Link stood up, sincerity turning to anger quickly, “What the  _ fuck  _ are you on about?”

“Tell me Link, how far did Jason go to take your mind off of me?”

“Fuck you, at least he was there for me.”

“How was I supposed to be, Link? You wanted space and I gave that to you.”

Link sat down on the bed, cross legged on the mattress in a position they’d sat in a hundred times before. “I don’t know. I’m so tired of this Rhett, what happened to us?”

Rhett reached out a hand, touch burning as he tepidly grazed Link’s knee, stroking the skin with his thumb. “I don’t know either Link. I’m scared.”

For the first time since everything had started, he finally saw tears falling from Link’s eyes, immediately setting him into motion. He grasped Link, the younger boy letting himself be embraced as he sobbed into Rhett’s bare shoulder. Rhett cooed at him, giving himself the liberty to touch Link as he stroked his hair, the same way he had through every trial Link faced in his life.

Rhett didn’t know what to do, what to say, but  _ fuck  _ did he need to fix this. He resorted to his only tried and true method, hoping the Link he knew front and back was still somewhere in there.

“You know, this is probably the weirdest way you’ve ever tricked your way into my bed.”

He felt the weight of the world fall off his shoulders as Link broke into a fit of laughter, tears now spilling from a source of joy as he picked his head up, bleary eyes cheerfully catching Rhett’s. Link sniffed the stream of snot flowing down his lip in a move Rhett couldn't help the swell of his heart at it. Impulse overtook a more calculated move as he pressed forward, kissing Link in earnest. He sighed into the kiss and Link pressed back, hands smoothing down his bare chest. They pulled back, both finding themselves prone to a case of the giggles as they fell back into the mattress, stomach’s cramping from the onset of laughter.

They laid face to face, hands tangling together as they shared desperate kisses, eager to spell out everything they felt but couldn't articulate in the moment.

Link broke the spell first, “We still have a lot to talk about. Lot of work to do.”

Rhett pecked him once more, hands moving up to clutch at his face, “I know, but we’re worth it Link. I can’t lose you again.”

Link smiled, kissing him again, and again, silently giving Rhett the confirmation that he felt the same way.

**Author's Note:**

> first in the series of a few commission pieces! thank you to everyone who reached out with one! Been feeling a little absent from here lately so it's good to have a reason to kickstart my writing again. 
> 
> [feel free to drop me a line here](http://www.youdidinthedark.tumblr.com)
> 
> [i'm also still taking commissions if you're interested!](http://www.ko-fi.com/youdidinthedark)


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